HO YANG FINE ART
  • home
  • artist
    • Gallery >
      • 2020 - present
      • 2015 - 2020
      • 2009 - 2014
      • collected
    • Series >
      • naturally...
      • thankful...
      • blue (2020-present)
      • together (2019 - present)
      • yellow (2019-2020)
      • embrace 50 (2018-2019)
      • breadcrumbs (2017-2018)
    • Sketchbooks >
      • #TrippingThisLife2 (2016-2018)
      • #TrippingThisLife (2015-2016)
      • Reflections (2014)
    • Exhibitions >
      • SPRING 2022
      • HYFA in Raleigh, NC (2016-2018)
      • Exhibition Summer 2015
      • Exhibition Summer 2010
      • Go Hog Wild (2010)
  • 121 Vance Street
    • studio*gallery*shop at 121
    • shop online
  • educator
    • teaching artist
    • art & education
  • advocate
  • about
  • blog
  • contact

Ho Yang Fine Art

engaged

1/11/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
engaged no. 1 - 10 x10 x1.5" mixed media on canvas
Picture
engaged no. 2 - 10 x 10 x 1.5" mixed media on canvas
In the living room hung a single original work of art: pink blossoms, dark gray branches, a calm composition of nature's beauty, all hand-painted strokes of ink. I don't know where the painting is and any trace of it has disappeared.

​Growing up, I didn't know that my mother painted at some point before being a parent. And it was during her earlier years as a grandmother when she decided to tell me about the original piece in the living room. She spoke briefly about  technique and chose to say little else. I had hoped the moment would last a bit longer. 
In 2011, I bought inks and brushes while vacationing in China. Eventually, I asked my mother if she would ever want to paint again. She gave it a go: used a few different brushes, wrote some Chinese characters, and then, set it all aside when she could no longer hold the brush well enough to do more.

​Our children know her lovingly as PoPo.
On June 11, 2021 our son, Casey proposed and Emily said, yes. Shortly thereafter, I received a mother-daughter request (surprise Christmas gift) to create art celebrating the engagement. Emily gave me a collection of dried flowers: deep blue, light pink, creamy white sweet peas that were present at the family gathering, along with roses, orchids, peonies from her mother. ​
Picture
Remembering when I first met Emily, it was May 2017 at Yankee Stadium with Casey wearing his Red Sox hat, celebrating graduation day - fun, beautiful, brave, happy, brilliant. With the warmth of their connection, I asked Casey about the design of their engagement ring and began working... sketching larger circles followed by smaller ones, playing with gold on white. 
Picture
sketching & playing before painting...
Picture
renewal (2018) - 36x36" mixed media on canvas (dried flowers, black inks, chalk pastel, acrylics)
Then, using the circle motif in "renewal" (2018), I began to paint: first in black (ink purchased in China); then, in gold with rings that reflected canvas no. 1 with no. 2, canvas no. 3 with no. 4. To balance the spaces between brush strokes, other elements were added: dried flowers (mother-daughter); a variety of red and green beads (Christmas); red pigment to stamp the Ho/Yang chinese characters on rice paper (art signed GYang); white and violet (NYU colors); yellow and blue to make green (the color of Emily and Casey's couch). Four pieces, each entitled, "engaged" -- art elements, moments with loved ones, memories we share -- apart/together, awaiting new stories to be told. 
Picture
"For..." (2015) - 20 x 20" mixed media
Cheers, Casey & Emily (engaged no. 1 & no. 2) 
Merry Christmas, Tran Family (engaged no. 3 & no. 4) 
"For Mom... painting her blossoms before I knew how" (2015)
​

​​In time, she showed me how.
Picture
engaged no. 3 - 24 x 24" mixed media on canvas
Picture
engaged no. 4 - 24 x 24" mixed media on canvas
0 Comments

we will...

10/21/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Dragon and Phoenix (Dec. 2008, 15 years) - 30x30” acrylic (private collection)
This morning, Ken pinged my whatsApp with a NYT article; in brief, they ran the presses to say the institution of marriage is fading. I messaged him back our usual, 1234 before taking the next few minutes to read the news. Which brings me here, how far back do I go. ​

Seven months and 7 days after our first date. In the winter of 1990, the proposal of marriage did not happen by tradition. Quiet, cold, evening - just the two of us. He said, I want to spend my life with you. Me, what?!  Then, flowing with the spontaneity of the moment, he gave me an invisible ring as a place holder. After it skipped a beat or two, I gave him my heart. Me, Yes!  Three years later, the wedding took place only because we canceled the elopement. More recently, I lost the heart-shaped diamond that sat squarely on my engagement ring. We searched everywhere. I crawled on the kitchen floor and did not find it. I insisted, No, please don’t replace it. No diamond would ever measure up to invisible. ​
Picture
today: working on B&W version of Dragon and Phoenix
Sometimes I like to say, I married up. And, according to the NYT article, we got a license with tax benefits as part of the deal. Commitment is about Up’s and all the Down’s. It’s an affair of the heart with aches and pains that leave cracks, chips, broken pieces that we try to repair every chance we get. It’s more than just, I do. It’s often times about, we will. Live, love, cherish this chance at life. You are and will be my one and only forever. ​
Picture
Oct. 10, 2021: ongoing work in my sketchbook #TrippingThisLife3
Picture
Oct. 19, 2021: rear entrance area at 121 Vance Street... renovation almost done.
As we approach the end of our renovation project, the one person who has stood by my side is still here. Long before the purchase of our property at 121 Vance Street (Clinton, NC) in June of 2019, we promised to spend our life together. In sickness and in health, the journey continues. Onward, peeps ❤️❤️❤️❤️


NYT article: The Married Will Soon Be the Minority https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/opinion/marriage-decline-america.html?referringSource=articleShare
0 Comments

imagine the stories we share...

3/19/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Younger me believed in keeping my birth name as I grew into adulthood. I imagined my medical degree, white lab coat, name tags... the usual identifiers labeled with "Dr. Ho" in honor of my family. At 21, I had not planned on finding a friend who would embrace what it means to keep my family name. As a tribute to us, I sign all art-work GYang - a reflection of me, Ken and our life together.
Picture
detail of #BLUE no. 6 - mixed media on canvas
Marriage traditionalists have asked, "Why didn't you take his last name?" What's in a name? A birth name. Family name. First and middle names. Nicknames. How much of a person's identity is tied to the implications of a name: ancestries, assumptions of race, nationalities, cultural norms, gender, societal expectations and the many stories that go with it? A name can say everything, something, and nothing more or less than what was intended. 
In the art world, consider the name given to a painting; the title, even when labeled "untitled" suggests something about the work. Each painting holds stories not only about the art and its artist, but also stories imagined by its viewers. The deeper impact, beauty and wonder exist in these stories that live beyond the title and visual first impressions. 
Recently finished: "finding common ground" (#BLUE no. 5, 6, 7) - 3 side-by-side canvases, each 24x36" mixed media (black inks, chalk pastels, dried flowers, glass beads, acrylics) 
Picture
#BLUE no. 5 (finding...) - 24x36" mixed media on canvas
Picture
#BLUE no. 6 (common) - 24x36" mixed media on canvas
Picture
#BLUE no. 7 (...ground) - 24x36" mixed media on canvas

​So when we meet, after that first, "hello, my name is..." I hope to have the chance to swap stories. It's about understanding who we are, what we don't know, how we care for one another and choose to be together... imagine the stories we share. 
Picture
March 16-18, 2021 - in my sketchbook #TrippingThisLife3
Picture
March 19, 2021 - in my sketchbook #TrippingThisLife3

​Dedicated to strangers, the ones unafraid to walk this path with me, with us
-- Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders --
​it's worth repeating, ​Thank You. 
#BLUE series (Feb. 2020 - present) updated for no. 5, 6, 7 and no. 12
0 Comments

Something blue...

11/6/2020

0 Comments

 
It began as a curiosity. When I saw “naval” (SW 6244) introduced as Sherwin Williams’ 2020 paint color of the year, I pictured the ends of our world — midnight skies, depths of oceans — and imagined possibilities for its use in my work. 
Picture
SW 6244 latex paint & canvases
In February, I started my #BLUE series with familiar materials: dried flowers, black inks, red glass beads, acrylic paints & mediums to create “hydrangeas” (36x36” canvas, #BLUE no. 1). Since then, I’ve been using varying sizes — 6x6” (each, no. 2, 3); 20x60” (no. 4); 24x36” (each, no. 5, 6, 7); 30x40" (each, no. 8, 9); 8x10" (each, no. 10, 11); 36x60” (no. 12) — to explore new ideas. 
Picture
hydrangeas (my lucky #6) - 36x36" mixed media on canvas - #BLUE no. 1

​While working in my art studio, I listen — to the news, music, friends, family, or nothing but the movements around me: wheels of my easel rolling, birds living outside, Jinx barking at the delivery truck in our driveway, the tired hum of our 15-passenger van bringing Ken back home. And sometimes when I’m not painting, I’m reading. Admittedly old-school and nerdy, turning paper pages of hard-covered books and medical journals that arrive by snail mail are my favorites. Creating, working, listening, reading, learning... all reminders that I’m lucky to have another day. 
Picture
medical journals since mid-March 2020
Picture
always #chooselove - 20x60" mixed media on canvas #BLUE no. 4 - private collection

​Art reflects life — feelings & emotions, thoughts & actions, places & moments, friends & strangers. These days, the process of using blue in my art inherently reflects sadness: too many lives lost and devastatingly impacted by extraordinary events. I miss seeing smiles on faces, going to faraway places, being with you in person, doing seemingly ordinary things. 
Focusing on blue may seem ordinary, that is, before that initial curiosity grows with exploration. Then, using navy blue in series to reveal its potential — vast, far reaching, deep, peaceful, calming — becomes an unexpected source of joy. 
Picture
#BLUE no. 10, 11 - Leaves, R & L - mixed media on 8x10" each, grey toned panel - private collection

​As winter approaches, I’ll continue to take breaks from extraordinary. Look and listen in spaces without noise. Be curious. Choose from my stacks of favorites. Read. Explore new ideas. Learn. Make art. And hope you’ll find joy, perhaps even in something blue. 

View process photos for #BLUE series, updated in Gallery. 

Please continue to take care, be safe, stay well and mask up. 

With deepest gratitude and love, this is dedicated to Dad (R.I.P. Sept. 2019) and Mom
​...married 50+ years today. 
​
#becauseARTmatters ❤️
0 Comments

Healing...

6/3/2020

0 Comments

 
As an artist, my work reflects life. 
As a retired family physician, my mission to serve people 
from different walks of life remains a purpose.

Amid the pain, suffering, dying and deaths, my heart aches for humanity.
​I remain hopeful for better times when I see small and big acts of kindness
happening in neighborhoods, communities, nations ...all over the world.
Healing takes time. 
0 Comments

We're asking for patience and kindness...

4/8/2020

0 Comments

 
** We're asking for patience & kindness from our community and wishing our 121 Vance Street project partners much luck with the start of demolition soon. ** 
Picture
April 8, 2020: parking lot behind Vance Street, Clinton, NC (rear blue door, our space)
Around 7am this morning, Ken took this photo on his way to work. By itself, it's a photo of a dumpster in a vacant parking lot, a quiet moment in downtown Clinton, NC. For me, seeing this photo, I'm hopeful for a brighter future.

I'm also feeling nervous, scared, sad and praying for the safety and health of everyone.

I'm saddened by the many lives lost and impacted by Covid19 and SARS-CoV-2. 

I'm relying on experiences of past critical public health events that Ken and I have shared, working together in medicine and health care. And this reminds us, we're a couple of science geeks.

I'm trying to stay positive during this global pandemic.

I'm holding onto small & big sources of joy.

I'm making art.

I'm feeling lucky to have another day.
​
​And I'm happy to see Ken come home at the end of each day. Our kids make me laugh and smile, always. 
Picture
April 6, 2020: card I made for Ken, celebrating 30 years of dating my forever love.
** We are grateful to have the love and support of family, friends, and a wonderful community. We miss seeing everyone. We're here, if there's anything we can possibly do for you. **

Please continue to take care of one another and stay well ❤️
** Grace & Ken ** 
0 Comments

Stay at home...

3/22/2020

0 Comments

 
      Since 2003, I’ve been a “stay at home” parent. I decided to take a leave from the best job I ever had in order to spend more time with my kids. And being well aware of having privileges at the time, I’m most grateful for the unexpected moments... like when our 18-month old daughter said, “delicious” (not “yum” or “good”) to describe how lunch tasted. 

     My privileges (being married, being a parent, having a home, not being paid for working at home, etc.) included having had a job working 100+ hours/week, side by side with my friend, Ken to pay off school loans & a mortgage, save up when we could, and spend on extra things that nobody actually needs. 

      Of the extra things I thought I didn’t need, turns out “staying at home” has been the most important work I have ever known. Of the privileges, having extra time with my kids wasn’t extra. It was simply time. And if I’m lucky, what remains at the end of each day is another tomorrow. 
​

     This is dedicated to Kayla, our high school senior: oh my goodness, what a privilege it has been to be your mother! My love to you and your peers of today and tomorrow, may your days be filled with priceless “delicious” little moments. 
Picture
unconditional love - 36x36" mixed media on canvas (SOLD...unconditionally to Kayla)
0 Comments

To all the naysayers in my past...  I know art matters.

1/29/2020

0 Comments

 
To all the naysayers in my past...
I have dreamed, prepared, and set real life goals to get here.
I work hard, earn my keep
and I'm careful with what I earn.

I'm a bit exhausted, sometimes frustrated,
often times filled with joy and extremely grateful 
for each person who knows. 

As I look to the future, I'm taking this moment 
to celebrate my love affair with art.
Happy Valentine's Day.
I love what I do.
It hasn't been easy.
But it has been fun, exciting, and deeply exhilarating ​
to defy all the naysayers who don't believe.

​I am an artist ...because art matters ❤️
Picture
I'll be using these flowers, collected and dried over the last few years.
They reflect life events: births, weddings, anniversaries, friendships and deaths. 

Picture
in my studio
Here's the start of my first painting for 2020,
​"unconditional love" - 36" x 36" canvas.

It began as a reflection of an earlier art-work, 
"In memory, I love him still" (#YELLOW series, no. 14)
which I dedicate to my father, George
​(RIP 09.27.2019 Y.L. Ho)

thank you for believing in my work. ​
Picture
2 open hearts, 1 yellow and 1 white - each, 36" x36" canvas
Picture
"In memory, I love him still" - 36" x 36" mixed media (acrylics, dried flowers) on canvas. #YELLOW series, no. 14
Picture
0 Comments

Dear young(er) artist...

9/9/2018

0 Comments

 
Dear young(er) artist, 

At mid-life, I teeter on a blurry line between my youthful past and the golden years ahead. In this moment I'd like to pass on a simple mantra, artists make art.  I heard it uttered by an art teacher as a kid, but didn't really get it until recently.  In 2010 when I decided to make art my work, stepping outside the daily lines of work wasn't easy. After taking an intense sketchbook studio course in 2014, I learned to value the work of sketching as a productive art-making process.
Picture
No matter where you are between young and old, begin with a good hardcover sketchbook. Gather basic art supplies: pencils, pens, markers, pastels, paints, etc. ...and tape, glue, whatever else you'd like to experiment with.  Then, consider these starting tips:
  • Explore new sources for ideas such as murals & street art, museums & galleries, shops & storefronts, books & magazines, etc. 
  • ​Observe with all your senses. For example, translate the sound of waves using lines, colors, shapes, texture, etc.
  • Put pencil (pen, marker, pastels...) to paper.
  • If it looks messy, look at it again; continue sketching until it's finished.
  • Make new marks, drips, smudges and mistakes; use erasers sparingly.
  • Draw freely. If you must, copy as a learning technique somewhere else.
  • Keep working: start a new page.
  • Own your work: sign and date each page (and eventual canvas, sculpture, art-work). 
  • Learn from other artists but never copy their work. Show and earn respect for originality.
  • Be yourself and stay focused on the work. ​
​​Soon enough, sketch-filled pages become sequential books reflecting work rooted in passion, discipline and dedication. With time your sketches will spawn new works of art. ​
Picture
finding #balance in #TrippingThisLife sketchbook
Picture
visual memory of Kochi, Japan, summer 2016 #TrippingThisLife2 sketchbook
Picture
water, sun, land - 60x72" mixed media on canvas (inspired by moments in Kochi, Japan) 2017
For viewing and learning, browse examples of my work available online:
  • Reflections: What Do You See? (2014) - final project for UF Sketchbook Studio taught by Professor P. Grigsby for MA in Art Education (2013-2014). 
  •  #TrippingThisLife (2015-2016) sketchbook- process & product photos. 
  • excerpts from #TrippingThisLife2 (2016-2018) sketchbook - HYFA Facebook page. ​
Now about that blurry time line, it's pointless. You're never too young or old to get started.  Sketch freely and often. Make art ...because art matters. 
#TrippingThisLife (2015-2016)
With kind regards, 
older artist
0 Comments

How we met twice in a lifetime...

3/24/2017

0 Comments

 
Thirty years ago, I laid eyes on him for the first time. I was too busy working, he kept going, and so we met only in my mind. A few years later in the spring of 1990, I remembered his face as he took the seat next to mine in Asian American Lit. He whispered that he forgot his copy of our class novel and asked to share mine. Days later when he forgot his book again, he was more interested in the scribbles on my notepad than the conversations happening in class. So when he started to write in the space beside my random sketch, I looked beyond his audacious reach and saw the words of a beautiful stranger who somehow knew my best-kept, best-friend secret of leaving marks on paper.
Picture
'private messaging' c. 1990
Those were the days when 'private messaging' came with the face-to-face thrill of meeting a new friend. As technology delivers bite-sized texts and character-limited tweets, I'm holding tight to one word that's slowly fading on my yellow paper: artist. Making art allows my hands to leave deliberate and purposeful marks on different surfaces to connect with another human. And when that one human becomes the person of my life, I hope the marks I leave will also keep our children connected. ​To this day, wherever he makes a point of sitting next to me -- in a restaurant, at the movies, on the soccer field bleachers -- I feel the luck of our twice-upon-a-lifetime first meeting in a classroom. So with him by my side, I'm working on a new series to feature hand-written messages that I'd like to keep from fading.
#breadcrumbs, FAMILY series
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Owner of HYFA. Original art-work signed GYang. Artist, educator, and advocate ...because art matters. Retired Family Physician (MD)

    Archives

    January 2022
    October 2021
    March 2021
    November 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    September 2018
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    November 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Ho Yang Fine Art holds all rights 2008 - 2022.
Respect that intellectual and artistic creativity of original HYFA art/work belong to Grace W. Ho.
DO NOT copy, print or reprint, produce or reproduce, claim rights to HYFA art/work.
  • home
  • artist
    • Gallery >
      • 2020 - present
      • 2015 - 2020
      • 2009 - 2014
      • collected
    • Series >
      • naturally...
      • thankful...
      • blue (2020-present)
      • together (2019 - present)
      • yellow (2019-2020)
      • embrace 50 (2018-2019)
      • breadcrumbs (2017-2018)
    • Sketchbooks >
      • #TrippingThisLife2 (2016-2018)
      • #TrippingThisLife (2015-2016)
      • Reflections (2014)
    • Exhibitions >
      • SPRING 2022
      • HYFA in Raleigh, NC (2016-2018)
      • Exhibition Summer 2015
      • Exhibition Summer 2010
      • Go Hog Wild (2010)
  • 121 Vance Street
    • studio*gallery*shop at 121
    • shop online
  • educator
    • teaching artist
    • art & education
  • advocate
  • about
  • blog
  • contact